My Music And Song's

The practical differences between the two types of guitars is, in sum, that an electric guitar needs to plug in to an amp and have electricity to be heard,but it’s easier to play than an acoustic. An acoustic works with nothing but the fingers nature gave you, but its loudness is limited to a range of a few feet, and in a quiet environment — unless it has a mic, of course. Acoustics can’t sustain like electrics can, so their lead qualities are more restricted, too.

As you can see in the preceding section, though, the bodies are quite different, owing to the way each converts a plucked string into audible sound. In this section, I cover both methods, but take note that the fundamental principles for acoustic guitars, and the way their strings produce notes, apply to electrics as well — acoustic is that baby’s daddy, after all.

The first blues guitars were acoustic because blues was invented before electricity had lent its powers to music. Gut and steel-string acoustics were used as a means to accompany a singing voice or another melodic instrument, like the fiddle. Gradually the rhythms evolved into single-note figures (riffs), and then finally into a solo instrument, where the guitar would carry the melody.But blues played on the acoustic guitar is a viable style today, as evidenced by the work of Rory Block, Roy Book Binder, John Hammond, Keb’ Mo’, and Chris Thomas King. So the first step in playing the blues is to understand how acoustic guitars work, and why they’re so perfect for playing the blues.